A Publication Of The Porter County Public Library System July 2011 August www.pcpls.lib.in.us Volume 23 Issue 4 Published bi-monthly by Porter County Public Library System Serving 11 Townships 2011 marks the 175th tence of the county goes back to pre- county which be- anniversary of the crea- historic times and the movement of came rich farm- tion of Porter County. glaciers over the region. land. The state legislature cre- A giant ice shelf descended upon the There are numer- ated the county in 1836 area and carved out what is now Lake ous geological and and named it after Michigan. The residue of the giant topographic maps American naval hero Commodore hole that formed the lake was depos- and books in the David Porter. He apparently never ited onto the north of half of what is Genealogy Depart- visited the area but certain locations in now the county forming a geomorphic ment of the Porter the county would have reminded him formation called the Valparaiso Mo- County Public Li- Portrait of Commodore of major events in his life. David Porter raine. brary System and The county seat was originally called The glacier also pulled up smaller sec- in the library branches detailing this Portersville but renamed Valparaiso tions of earth to form small lakes in the geomorphic development and how after the city in Chile that he led a na- northern part of the county. This re- the entire economic and social devel- val battle off the coast of and his ship sulted in a hilly terrain and the sand opment of the area resulted due to the Essex was also the name of a town- this. dunes that highlight the north shore. ship at one time. The area was first settled by the Pot- By the time the ice mass reached the Everything about Porter County re- center part of the county it began to tawatomie Indian Tribe. There were volves around location, location and crush the land forms and eventually reports of French explorers such as location. Whatever makes up the exis- created a mostly flat area in the south LaSalle and Mar- continued on page 2 INSIDE Coming Soon…eBooks THIS ISSUE We know that many of our patrons have been patiently waiting for PCPLS to offer eBooks. In Porter County fact, over 130 patrons completed our recent eBook survey and an overwhelming number of History 1 - 3 those people indicated that they would like us to start offering eBooks. After carefully considering all of the survey responses and Introducing... 3 iss m researching the various eBook services available to libraries, we are ’t st on we D e joy n n happy to announce that we are planning on offering eBooks to our Event he e te t to ri ay vo patrons in the Fall of 2011. Later this summer we hope to bring you w fa s! Calendar 4 & 5 ur or yo th au more details about the services we will offer. Friends’ News 6 Here's some of the results of the eBook survey: Antiques The most popular eReader devices people owned were Kindles, Database 10 Nooks, and iPads/iPhones. Youth Services Most people wanted us to buy eBooks in the following genres: Mys- Book Review 7 tery, Best Sellers, Historical, Hobbies, Travel, Biographies, and His- tory. Relatively Most of the 130+ people who responded said they would be willing to Speaking 7 wait on a hold list for an eBook. continued from page 1 lators who would give them cash for The first non-native people to settle in quette passing through on the the properties and then come out to the Porter County were American-born area and set up their own land offices. and most were from the New England Kankakee River and other paths such as the Sauk Trail and Yellowstone Trail Philander Paine purchased a lot of states, NewYork, Pennsylvania, Ohio being used for people moving west- these land warrants and became a ma- and Virginia. The first foreign born ward but there was no real settlement jor real estate agent during the early residents were from Germany during in the area until 1832. years. The first real atlas of Porter the 1860’s; then came residents from Sweden. Eastern Europeans started to The legendary Joseph Bailly did set up County wasn’t published until 1876. Hardesty’s Illustrated Atlas of Porter arrive during the 1890’s. residence as a fur trader before the gov- County, Indiana includes maps of the ernment allowed actual residences to be Most early residents were farmers but established. Stories of those early times land ownership in 1876 but also an merchants came to open businesses in can be found in his granddaughter early account of the county’s history. It the larger towns that were developed. includes a listing of the earliest settlers Frances Bailly Howe’s book, “The Ac- Valparaiso was the first real settlement in the county as well as the year they count of a French Homestead in the Old but the first post office was actually in arrived and where they came from. Tassinong, near the intersection of what Northwest.” is now Highway 49 and Baum’s Bridge The United States government signed a The Genealogy Department has photo- copies and microfilm copies of the earli- Road in Morgan Township. A marker treaty with the Pottawatomie Indians to est records of Porter County. An inven- is located there to show the spot. Other open up the area to settlement in 1832. tory of these documents include the monuments indicate special locations The area was ripe for development be- such as one for the Old Sauk Trail next cause the location south of Lake Michi- marriage books from 1836-1984, estate administration and inventory records to the Valparaiso City Hall and a gan presented major routes for people from 1836 to 1955, tax assessment books marker at Jefferson and Franklin Streets heading westward. from the 1850’s to 1870’s, civil court in Valparaiso marking the location of The state of Indiana organized the new the first school. cases from 1889-1963, guardianship and territory. Originally it was part of St. divorce records from 1889 to 1963, deed The Genealogy Department has a col- Joseph County but the western section indexes from 1836 to 1909 and deeds lection of all the cemetery listings for of the territory was used to create La filed in La Porte County for lands Porter County. These books provide Porte County. Porter County was part which became Porter County from 1832 information on people that may then of La Porte County from 1832 to 1836. -1836. lead to court records, newspapers, land The federal government owned most of All available Valparaiso newspapers purchases, history books and other ma- the land and set up a land office in La terials which follow that person’s path Porte. People stopping at the office that have been microfilmed are avail- able to be viewed. There are a few is- through the early years of Porter could see what property was available sues from the early 1840’s, and then County. and purchase it there. The deeds for these purchases are found at the web- 1847 to the present. The earliest papers This has been a brief overview of things were weeklies and have been ab- site www.glorecords.blm.gov for those that happened when Porter County stracted from 1847 to 1906. was in its’ infancy. One hundred sev- who want to find more about the early settlers in the area. Three important books cover the earli- enty five years of history would take a long time to cover and many of the Another way people acquired land was est years of the county’s history. They Goodspeed’s History of Porter and highlights can be explored in the li- as a reward for military service. The are: Lake Counties, Indiana published in brary. government gave out sections of prop- 1882, the 1912 History of Porter erty called bounty land warrants. Most The creation of the Indiana State Park County, Indiana of the people who received these were and the 1927 edition of and the Indiana National Lakeshore Calumet Region of Northwestern Revolutionary War soldiers. These men the made Porter County a major tourist Indiana . attraction and the development of Val- were fairly old by the early 1830’s. They often didn’t want to move to the paraiso University brought people from around the world to the area. wilderness and would give the deeds to family members or friends. They also T h e would Port of sell the Indiana rights and the to peo- devel- p l e opment called of Beth- specu- 2nd Porter County courthouse l e h e m completed in 1853. 1866 Valparaiso scene Public Library 1905 2 and Midwest Steel along the lake shore brought industry to the county. Urschel Introducing… Judi Hanson Laboratories and Mc Gill Manufacturing made Valparaiso a center for product How long have you been a library trustee? development. I am currently completing my fourth four year term. Orville Redenbacher’s television com- What do you like most about being a trustee? mercials made people connect the area By being involved with the library on this level I have met so many fine library staff to popcorn. Early resident Josephine members, volunteers and patrons. This has been a great learning experience for me in Garris Cochran patented the first dish- terms of how our government works. Our staff does an outstanding job of wisely run- washer and the Calkin brothers devel- ning our libraries.